


Do You Know Who I Am?

by DreadPirateWombat, Jamie_Aizen



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Civil War Team Iron Man, F/M, Gen, M/M, Not Team Captain America Friendly, Slow Burn, Winteriron endgame
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2019-09-13 16:35:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16896132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreadPirateWombat/pseuds/DreadPirateWombat, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jamie_Aizen/pseuds/Jamie_Aizen
Summary: Tony Stark disappears within two hours of Steve Rogers abandoning him in the Siberian Hydra base.Six weeks later, he is rediscovered in a village.He is barefoot and filthy, and clearly bears signs of starvation and torture.He also bears news of an incoming threat: Thanos is coming.With a new friend at his side, Tony gets to work preparing for the invasion, along with the rest of the world.Unknowing that there is a greater evil brewing in the universe.(Spoiler Alert: It's not the purple grape heading to earth)





	1. Author's Note- READ FIRST!

**Author’s Note**

**5/27/2019**

* * *

 

Hello all you Marvel Fans and welcome back.

Apologies for the absence as real life has been hectic and this fic had to take a back burner for a while as I struggled with not only financial troubles but the inspiration for this. Thankfully I have received major assistance and we are slowly pushing forward. This section is very important and I would be grateful if you would take the time and read this area.

 

**First off:**

  1. **Do You Know Who I Am** now has a co-writer, DreadPirateWombat.  
  
  

  2. THIS FIC IS TEAM IRON MAN AND NOT ROGUE AVENGERS-FRIENDLY  
 There may be some bashing, but we are doing our best not to have the Rogues be two-dimensional caricatures.  
 **DON’T LIKE? DON’T READ.  
  
**
  3. The main romantic pairing of this fic is WinterIron (i.e., James Barnes/Tony Stark) - that means Male/Male romance and possibly smut (if we decide to include any we will warn for it and change the rating).  
Again: **DON’T LIKE? DON’T READ.  
  
**
  4. **Trigger warnings will be posted in the notes at the end of the chapter.** Please check them if you are at risk of being triggered and take care of yourself.   
  

  5. We have a posting schedule planned for this fanfic  - 3 chapters every 3 months. The next few chapters will be posted within a few weeks (?) as they are already written and are in the process of being proofread. However, once either  Chapter 3 or Chapter 4 is posted, we will resume proper scheduling and stick to it. With family, jobs, and school, real life must come first; and there are going to be days where we need to take off for self-care. Please do not barrage us with pleas for faster updates and more chapters. We agreed to this schedule as it gives us more time to not only create the chapters but to make sure we are presenting our best.  
  

  6. The majority of the story is in planning mode and about ⅓ of it has been shared and confirmed between us. Chapters still need to be written in a timely manner, however, if we find ourselves in a situation where we cannot update on time, we will let the readers know.  
  

  7. Characters and relationships have already been confirmed and will be added as the story continues. While we do ask for feedback for this story and what you would like to see, please understand that we will not be able to accommodate everyone’s request. As I mentioned before, the plot along with characters and most of the details have been planned.  
  

  8. This is an AU post-Captain America: Civil War Avengers. It is canon-divergent after that and for Infinity War/Endgame canon. I myself have yet to see Endgame (even though it has been spoiled by friends), but since we are going off script for this fanfic, it should not be a big deal.  
  

  9. There are some aspects from the Marvel Comic series in terms of characters and certain situations. However, we are staying in the MCU verse which means no FOX-affiliated superhero teams (X-MEN, Fantastic Four, or Deadpool). Also, no DC universe is going to be in this story.  Please do not ask us about adding them as we are not planning to.  
  

  10. No flames, please. Constructive criticism only. While we are turning on comment moderation to eliminate trolls, please understand that this is a story that should be enjoyed and if you do have an issue with something, you have the right to let us know. Please do not abuse us and try to pick a fight. If you have a problem, please state what that issue is. We might not be able to get to every comment and review and for that, we apologize in advance.  
  

  11. For those of you who read the fanfic and want to review but cannot, I apologize but we will not turn off the comment moderation.  
  

  12. Last but not least, we hope you enjoy this story. This is a massive project that has been on my mind and it would not have been half as wonderful and trying without the help of DreadPirateWombat!



 


	2. Prologue

**PROLOGUE:**

 

_ “We will be watching you, Herr Stark. Do remember that any trickery will result in… unpleasant consequences.” _

_ There was a snarky remark on the tip of his tongue, but Tony still had the fire along his ribs from the last time he had opened his mouth. The beating he had suffered under the Hydra soldiers was evidence of just how enthusiastic they were about dealing out those "unpleasant consequences."  _

_ Must be something about how superior they felt to get one over the Avengers. _

_ Tony shook his head, trying to focus on the task at hand past the dizziness caused by too little sleep and even less food. He rubbed the area between his aching eyes as he glanced back at the screen and began typing various codes and commands, hands surprisingly steady on the keyboard. Then again, he’d always had steady hands, had to, being an engineer. In his line of work, shaky hands could result in the loss of a finger or months of work.  _

_ Tony shook his head again.  _ Focus!

 

_ Fortunately for him, he had had the foresight to input certain prompts into the program, commands, and processes hidden behind innocuous bits of code he subverted for his own purposes.  _

_ A backdoor into his machine. _

_ Tony looked up towards the circular steel gate, adorned with his famous arc reactor and grimaced. He went over his calculations again and then again, recalculating his odds on surviving the calamity he was about to create. It was risky, and would be a helluva lot safer for him to just let the machine do what the Hydra morons expected. It would be safer, smarter maybe, to give them what they wanted and give them a reason to keep him alive. But really, why bother? _

_ No one was coming for him. _

_ Tony knew there would be no rescue, not in time to save him, anyway. No one knew where he was. Even if his locations were somehow discovered, there was no one left to come for him. The earlier beating had at the very least cracked a rib, and he had developed a cough he couldn’t shake. He’d lost muscle mass and what was left trembled with exhaustion most days. There was a 75% chance he wouldn’t survive another month in this place and a 50% chance Hydra would kill him as soon as they knew he had succeeded in creating their Super Stupid Doomsday Device ( _ _ ™Tony Stark). He didn’t like those odds. He preferred to make his own. _

_ There was a 95% probability of him surviving the coming explosion, a 95% chance that there would be an eye in the storm that leaving him battered but alive.   _

 

_ The other 5% would see him splattered across the facility walls. _

__

_ “Herr Stark, we are waiting,” an impatient voice broke Tony from his thoughts. _

__

_ Tony heard the telltale sounds of the safety being switched off on multiple guns, and he took a deep breath. He finished the last line of commands and pressed the enter key. _

__

_ “It’s done.” _

__

_ “Then please step away from the console Herr Stark.” _

__

_ Tony took several steps to the right, measuring them so he did not step beyond the area he had calculated earlier. The machine began whirring and the arc reactor flickered as the power fluctuated before stabilizing. The air turned staticky, little arcs of electricity sparking here and there. Tony felt his heart race as he watched the energy crackle within the portal of the gate. He could hear cheering and excitement as the Hydra operatives celebrated their success. _

__

_ Exactly two minutes after the machine started, a klaxon of alarm rang out. From within the center of the gate, bolts of energy lashed out, hitting the agents closest to the machine before arcing to those further away. Screams accompanied the sounds of bodies dropping to the ground. Tony gave himself a mental pat on the back as his calculations proved correct. While he was in the “safe” zone, anything more than 3.7 feet from the machine would be struck with enough volts to stop a person’s heart.  Within the safe zone, the energy particles wouldn’t have enough velocity to kill. With his 2 feet of distance, Tony’s weakened heart _should_ be safe, and he should come out with only minor injuries. His captors, however, were helpless and would be left as nothing more than jerky. Some tried to escape, but they were dead as soon as they touched the METAL door. The spectators were dead within seconds, but Tony knew reinforcements were on their way. They would suffer the same fate. Even if they managed to stay out of range, the power would continue to increase, eventually tearing the base apart. No one but him could reach the console, and if they couldn't shut off the power from anywhere else. It was his arc reactor powering the SSDD, so no plugs, and should it be damaged, the arc would create an explosion that would turn the facility into a crater the size of a small city. Shooting Tony would accomplish nothing, and he was at the point of feeling like he wouldn't mind so much if they did, as long as he took the rest of him with them. _

_Tony's plan was to wait past the first two waves of reinforcements, then he should be able to get to a vehicle and make it out. It was a gamble, but one Tony had been confident (95%) would succeed in his favor._

_ It was only when his vision tinged with red and he felt an electric current pull at his body that Iron Man realized something had gone wrong... _

* * *

 

 

**_-END OF PROLOGUE-_ **


	3. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Note: This is technically Chapter 1A, the second half will be up in a few days as a new chapter, Chapter 1B. When the second full chapter goes up, 1A and 1B will be combined into a single chapter.
> 
> Trigger warnings are at the end in the Author's Notes.
> 
> As for this chapter: 
> 
> Tony finds himself in a strange world with an even stranger companion...

**Chapter One:**

 

A sharp, throbbing pain in his head was the only indication that Tony Stark was still alive after the blinding light and accompanying explosion. 

_ ‘Fucking Hydra scientists…’ _

It took a few moments for him to convince his eyes to open, and he regretted doing so immediately as the harsh sun caused his head to pound and his eyes teared up with pain. As he lay there beneath the pounding sun letting his eyes adjust to its glare, he had the vague thought that something about the sun was off. Not only had he been indoors when the explosion happened, but it had been after dark. Also, the scorching heat was a nice change from the cold and snowy fortress where Hydra had stashed him.

Tony threaded his right hand through his hair, wincing at the dirt and sweat mixed in the strands. The brunette slowly sat up, hissing as he felt every inch of him protest the movement. A traitorous thought crept into his mind before he could stop it: _ ‘I’m getting too old for this…’ _

He quickly shoved the thought aside, focusing instead on trying to determine what the hell had happened to him and where in the fucking Science he was. He blinked against the sun as he took in his surroundings. 

He was sitting on coarse, dry grass. It stretched out to the horizon on both sides and behind him.  However, about 20 feet in front of him, there was a copse of trees surrounding a pond. He could see more trees past the pond, a wood. 

After searching the area with his eyes and listening carefully, Tony was relieved that he seemed to be alone, although he wished briefly that he had his suit and its scanners to make sure. He still didn’t drop his guard. He didn’t know where he was or what exactly had happened. He had no idea how much time had passed. 

Was Hydra looking for him? Were they coming to drag him back to their little workshop of horrors?

The thought caused a flare of panic in Tony’s chest. He grasped at his chest, fingers digging into his threadbare shirt. Between injuries, illness, and Hydra’s twisted experiments Tony wasn’t sure how long Hydra had held him. The only thing he could be certain about was that it had been at least several weeks, and he only knew that because his captors liked to gloat. They’d shove his face into newspapers with the headlines demanding his presence and answers, screaming for the truth behind the so-called Avengers Civil War. He wouldn’t put it past the bastards to have shown him headlines from days or weeks before.  _ Luckily, I don’t think they would go to the trouble of making fake newspapers just to fuck with me. _

One of the agents had had the honor of reporting that the other Avengers had escaped Ross’ custody and the world was searching for them.  _ So stupid, they just made their situation worse. _   
  
From what he was able to gather, the newspapers were still speculating as to what had happened during the ‘Civil War’ as they had taken to calling it, and wondering where the ex-Avengers were hiding. Apparently, some even speculated that Tony was with them.

_ Thank god for Pepper. _ And his PR Team. Tony knew they would do their utmost to protect SI from the truly colossal clusterfuck that the whole mess had been. It was better if the news of his disappearance was kept quiet. Tony Stark in hiding and Tony Stark  _ missing _ were two very different things. And Science forbid if the public thought he was dead. The two previous times he had been presumed dead, stocks had plummeted, and the global economy had stumbled.  
  


Tony let out a hiss of pain as he placed his hand on the ground and pushed himself to a standing position, ignoring the aches and cracks of his stressed bones, the burning soreness in his muscles. He arched his back, stretching his arms over his head, then bent forward. He stretched his legs and did an internal check of his physical condition. After determining that despite how his captivity had weakened him, he was  _ probably  _ strong enough to move, he started towards the pond. 

The open plain behind him made his shoulder blades itch, and he circled around the water’s edge until the trees were at his back. The water was clear and glistening, and for a moment Tony was tempted to dunk his head to cool off, but he reigned in the impulse. Who knew what type of bacteria and animal filth was swimming in the innocent-seeming water?

Tony did take the opportunity to examine his face in detail. It wasn’t like Hydra provided him a mirror in his cell, and reflective surfaces had been few and far between. The ones in the labs had yielded only blurry blotches of color. 

His face was sunken underneath his unkempt beard, and his skin was pale from lack of food and sunlight. The Hydra agents had allowed him to shower during his stay, but it had been days since his last one, and there were smudges of dirt and oil scattered on his skin. His guards had not been stupid enough to allow him a razor or scissors, and his hair was now reached his chin. The waves were matted and coated with grime, and there was a patch near his right temple where he had clearly smudged oil into his hair. 

His eyes he ignored completely - he didn’t want to know.

Tony knew that beneath his clothes, he was nothing but bones and tight, wiry muscle. If he lifted his shirt, he would see new bruises layered upon healing ones, nicks, and cuts scattered everywhere, some still stained with blood. 

  
He was so focused on cataloging the changes in his appearance that he barely heard the voice that spoke from behind.

“You are a long way from home,  _ néséne _ …”   
  


The smooth voice startled Tony and he spun around palm raised, only to remember that he didn’t have his gauntlet watch anymore. He adapted quickly, clenching his fists and taking a fighting stance. If this new arrival was a threat, he promised himself he wouldn’t go down without a fight.  
  
  


A person stood about 10 feet from Tony, and a little further into the trees Tony could see a campfire burning. The stranger appeared to be of Native American descent. They were taller than Tony, over 6 feet, and dressed in relaxed jeans and a flannel button-down layered over a loose thermal shirt. They had waist-length silvered hair framing high cheekbones in a weathered face.  Tony placed their age about 60. Their face was neither distinctly masculine or feminine, and loose clothing hid their form, but from their voice and build, Tony guessed the stranger was male. The other’s stance was easy and non-threatening; he seemed mostly curious. 

Despite the man’s relaxed pose, there was an air about him that screamed of power. Tony swallowed nervously He wasn’t bad at hand-to-hand combat (first Happy and then Romanov had made sure he could stand against most attackers), he was pretty sure the man wasn’t baseline human. Not to mention, the months of abuse by Hydra and minimal nutrients had left him in a weakened state.

The strange man seemed to guess his thoughts, and the corners of his mouth lifted in an amused smile. “Come now, if I wanted to kill you I would have done so while your back was turned,” he said in a reasonable tone.

 

Rolling his eyes, Tony dropped his hands and straightened from his defensive stance, before walking towards the speaker. As he came closer, Tony could make out smudges of dirt on the other man’s clothes, as well as his hands,  as if he had just been digging in the earth. It was also clear that under his loose clothing the man was muscular, despite his elderly appearance. He wore a necklace made of brown leather cord threaded with beads made of metal and shell. His flannel sleeves had been rolled to his elbows, and red leather bands etched with geometric patterns circled his thick wrists.

Despite his aged face, he had few wrinkles. There were deep crows feet around his eyes, but they didn’t make him look tired and instead spoke of wisdom and laughter. His amused smile had softened to one friendliness, and his deep brown eyes were full of gentleness. His hair was still mostly black, but there were thick ribbons of silver threaded through it.

The man seemed completely at ease in his skin, relaxed completely unafraid. Tony could admit to a bit of envy at the stranger’s comfortable state. Tony himself felt distinctly  _ un _ comfortable, in a filthy gray shirt twice his size and black pants with the waistband rolled down to keep them from falling off, feet aching and chafed in their scratchy socks and cheap, too-big loafers because the Hydra bastards hadn’t trusted him with laces.

 

The man seemed to note Tony’s fatigue, as he cleared his throat and gestured towards the small fire pit. Tony accepted the offer, stumbling towards the circle of light as the sky dimmed.  _ Okay, middle of nowhere, check. Mysteriously appearing stranger, check. I’m in a horror movie and the kindly-looking grandfather is going to end up killing and eating me.  _ Tony tried to muster up some sort of feeling about his clearly inevitable murder, but he was just too damn tired. Too tired to try and figure out where the hell he was and too tired to look try and take control of the situation. Instead, he sank to the ground beside the fire, feeling terribly grateful that he was not alone in this place. 

Even with the sun setting, the air was still hot and stifling, though thankfully the fire was small enough to not give off much heat. After Tony was settled, the other man took his own seat on the other side of the fire. 

“It has been a while since I have received any visitors on this plane,” said the man with a smile, “and you are just in time for tea.”

Tony blinked at the word “plane,” and suddenly a copper tea kettle had appeared nestled next to the fire pit, along with two fired-clay cups. His weary brain wasn’t sure how to react to that, and eventually decided it wasn’t worth questioning. He was exhausted, thirsty and famished. The nice man was offering Tony something to drink, what did it matter that he had magically appearing dishes? The whole “plane” thing could wait as well.

 

So, Tony arranged himself more comfortably, one leg resting on the ground, the other bent so upwards so he could rest his arm and head on it. He observed his companion as the man produced a canister of tea leaves from …  _ somewhere _ ( _ don’t think about it, Tony _ ) and carefully measured them out before adding them to the kettle, which must have already been filled with water ( _ nope, still not thinking about it _ ). Still, Tony found watching the ritual comforting. It reminded him of when Ana Jarvis would take a much smaller him to her kitchen to make them something hot to drink, cider or cocoa for him and tea for herself. They would then sit at the kitchen table, and Anna would sip her cup while listening to Tony chatter. He had always loved those times, especially after being in Howard’s threatening presence. 

The two men sat quietly while the tea steeped. After several minutes, the other man poured tea into each of the cups, before holding one of them out to Tony. Tony stared at the cup in the other man’s hand, the thought of taking it from him made his hands clench. 

Misunderstanding Tony’s hesitation, the man across from him chuckled, “Do not worry,  _ néséne. _ It is not poisoned.”

“No, that’s not it” Tony replied. He swallowed, eyeing the cup like he expected it to bite him. “I just, I don’t like being handed things,” he admitted, then tensed waiting for his companion’s inevitable annoyed response.  _ I don’t know why you have to make things so difficult, Tony.  _

Instead, the man simply gave Tony an assessing look, before setting the cup on the ground between them. Tony felt his shoulders relax at the other man’s easy acceptance. He let his bent leg fall as he leaned forward to pick up the cup, then settled with his legs loosely crossed. Tony thanked the older man, and then they both took a moment to inhale the scented steam of their drinks. After several moments of silence, Tony quirked an eyebrow and asked, “Do you always just give random strangers a cup of tea or am I just special?” 

 

The man gave a hearty laugh. “It is a courtesy,” he replied. “You have granted me the gift of your company,” he said, smiling, “the least I can do is offer you something to drink.”

Tony was beyond thirsty, still, he hesitated to drink. The scent of the tea reminded him so strongly of Ana and Jarvis. Both had been religious drinkers of the beverage. Ana had had a  **Zsolnay** tea set she had brought with her from her homeland. She said it had been a wedding present given to her great-grandmother. Unlike the cream and gold tea set with its pale pink flowers that his parents used for company, Ana’s pot and cups were a bright yellow, with large blue and red flowers. Ana and Jarvis were religious drinkers of tea, and while Jarvis didn’t seem to care what cup his came in, Ana always used her tea set when making any for herself. When she and Tony would drink together, she would let Tony drink from one of the cheerful cups, and he had always felt so grown up to be trusted with such a precious item. 

When Ana passed away, Jarvis had packed the set away, its cheerful colors too painful a reminder. When Jarvis passed away, he left the tea set to Tony, along with a letter in which he wrote that both he and Ana had always thought of Tony as their child and that he deserved to have the set. Tony had never been able to bring himself to open the box..

He stopped drinking tea entirely. It hurt too much. By the time the pain had dulled, he was a firm devotee to coffee, and disdain of lesser beverage was well established.

Now, as Tony took his first sip of tea in decades, he was struck with an overwhelming wave of longing for the Jarvises, for the sense of  _ home _ and  _ family _ and  _ safe  _ he had always felt around them. It had been so long since he had felt anything close to the same.

“Are you alright, Dr. Stark?”

 

Tony hadn’t realized he had squeezed his eyes shut until they startled open at the sound of his companion’s concerned voice. It was only then he realized hands were trembling around his cup. Tony took a shaky breath.  _ Shit. I can’t lose it here. Keep it together, Tony; you’re not safe yet.  _

Tony forced his hands to still and his, and relaxed his posture. He gave the older man a sharp smile, “So you know who I am.”

The other man didn’t seem bothered by the change in Tony’s demeanor, his posture was still friendly and relaxed. He just gave Tony a wry smile and replied, “Even the stars know who you are, Dr. Stark.” 

Before Tony could process that terrifying thought, the stranger gestured towards their small fire, and the flames grew larger, taller than their seated forms. Tony scrambled away from the blaze with a curse, but his companion didn’t even tense as the flames licked at his knees. Tony narrowed his eyes, glancing between the man and the fire. He quickly realized that the temperature around them hadn’t changed in the slightest. He moved forward cautiously but felt no increase in warmth. _Magic._ He was a little surprised that he wasn’t freaking out more at that realization, but he supposed the other man’s calm and friendly attitude helped. Also, there was no creepy red glow or eerie blue eyes. _And I’m not thinking about that._ He flopped to the ground with a groan on the edge of the flames that sat there cheerily burning but stubbornly giving off no heat, like a big fuck you to blessed Science.   _Stupid magic and its defiance of physics_ , he pouted, glaring at the fire. At the sound of a chuckle poorly disguised as cough, Tony turned his glare on his companion. The other man’s friendly smile hadn’t changed, but Tony saw the twinkle of mischief in his eyes. The bastard was laughing at him.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Showoff,” he muttered. The other man grinned at him. “Good for you, you mastered dramatics 101, very impressive,” Tony said gesturing towards the blaze. “Was there a point to that little display?” The stranger’s expression sobered, then he flicked his fingers at the flames, and their color shifted from red to blue. Tony cringed at the color change. 

“You must look, Dr. Stark,” said the stranger. “You must  _ see. _ ”

Tony wasn’t sure he wanted to  _ see _ , but he was also curious, and so he steeled himself and peered into the flames. 

Soon images began to appear, and quickly Tony realized that he was seeing himself. The Tony in the flames was a younger version, the Tony from before Afghanistan and before Stane’s betrayal. Tony watched as the younger him walked down the stairs of a building, blowing kisses and waving his hands at the populace. This Tony was an asshole and cocky - but there was also a playfulness to him. He laughed freely; he didn’t yet carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.

_ ‘God, when was the last time I felt that confident, that  _ free _?’ _

The scene changed again and showed him in Afghanistan, wearing the Mark I and destroying the weapons cache of the Ten Rings. Another flicker and Tony watched himself announce that the weapon’s department of S.I would be shut down. The pictured shifted again and he was once more in the Iron Man suit protecting a small boy wearing an Iron Man mask.

Over and over, the scenes changed - showing not only him but his moments with others.

_ Pepper smiling fondly at his bots. _

_ Rhodey and him drinking beers and giggling like schoolchildren. _

_ Happy patiently teaching Tony how to box. _

_ Peter, so bright-eyed and excited to be able to help. _

_ The Aveng- _

  
The inventor felt his breathing quicken and his fingers twisted themselves into the fabric of his pants. It was getting harder to breathe as he felt a weight sit in his chest. Sweat began to drip down his forehead but the air felt so cold he was distantly surprised his breath didn’t frost. His ears rang with the sound of metal on metal. He felt punches and kicks delivered with supersoldier force. His vision swam and darkened around the edges, and then there was Rogers, fists clenched, ‘I can do this all day.’

_Were my calculations wrong?_ Had the explosion killed him? Maybe he was dead, maybe he had never left the frozen bunker. _And this is hell,_ he thought, as he heard his mother’s screams.

 

‘Howard!’ 

Yes, hell was lying alone, slowly freezing to death, knowing no one was coming to save him, and being forced to listen to his parents’ murder on repeat. He could feel his fingers going numb, and it was so hard to breathe.

He felt warm fingers wrap around his left wrist, and suddenly he could hear a firm voice saying, “You are not there, Tony. You are safe. You need to breathe.” The warmth on Tony’s wrist, so out of place in the cold of Siberia, anchored him. He gripped the hand on his arm and closed his eyes, concentrating on that calm voice. Slowly, he was able to push away the memories. Slowly, he calmed his breathing. When his breathing had normalized and he had stopped shaking, Tony opened his eyes. Finally, Tony opened his eyes, to see the older man kneeling in front of him, one hand on Tony’s wrist. Tony flinched at the other’s nearness, this close he could see the color of his eyes was not brown, as expected but a dark gray that swirled pale purples and blues. The kind expression in those eyes allowed Tony to relax; he was safe. 

He was grateful for his companion's assistance, so when he said, “Thanks,” it was heartfelt.

The man patted Tony,s arm, before releasing his wrist and returning to his previous seat. “It was no trouble, Dr. Stark,” he said. He had picked up Tony’s cup from where it had fallen to the ground. The stranger wiped it down before refilling it with tea and setting it within Tony’s reach. “And I owe you an apology. I did not expect you to have such a visceral reaction to what you saw in the flames.” He nodded towards the fresh cup of tea, “That will help you. You are pale and could use the warmth.”

Tony picked up the cup with trembling fingers. He had many questions, but he still felt unsteady. He knew he needed to be able to think clearly before demanding answers. 

“Do not just gulp it down,” the man’s voice interrupted Tony’s attempt to do just that. “Try and relax, focus on breathing,” he said. “Hold the cup under your nose and slowly inhale the steam. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing and the object you are holding. Let the scent and feel soothe and anchor you,” the stranger instructed.   
  
The inventor nodded and obeyed the other’s directions. As he inhaled the familiar scent, the tightness in his chest eased, and his breathing became easier. He focused on the warmth of the cup in his hand and the rich taste on his tongue as he drank slowly. The liquid warmed him up from the inside, and he felt himself calm even more.

* * *

 

 

**-End of Chapter One-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for Tony having a flashback to Siberia.


	4. Author's Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note (Will be deleted when the next chapter is up)

**Hello everyone.**

**  
Jamie here with an announcement!!**

 

~Important fact to start off with is that we have not abandoned the story. It is still going strong and hopefully, we’ll get the next chapter out real soon.

 

However, real-life has a way of kicking us where it hurts. Both myself and DreadPirateWombat have been dealing with personal issues that have pulled our attention away from this work of fiction. I have been dealing with financial issues and preparing for re-entering into college again. DreadPirateWombat has been dealing with family and health issues so they needed time away and a long break (they deserve that).  
  
We do have the next chapter written out, it just needs to be edited.

 

Thank you all for being patient with us. Hopefully, we won’t take another long hiatus but if we do, we’ll be better at communicating with the audience and don’t go silent for too long.

**Hey people!**

  
DreadPirateWombat here; I wanted to apologize for the delayed updates. It’s mostly my fault as I’ve been struggling with depression for the past several months. Luckily, things APPEAR to be on the upswing, so we should have the next chapter out within the next week. Thank you for your patience everyone!

 

 

 

 

 


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